Where is exhibited the work The Night Watch painted by Rembrandt in 1642?

Rembrandt’s Night Watch, completed in 1642, is one of the most famous works of the Golden Age of Dutch painting. This monumental painting, measuring 363 cm high by 437 cm wide, depicts the company of the bourgeois militia of the Amsterdam Musketeers, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq, emerging in arms from a building.

Originally, The Night Watch was displayed in the great hall of the Kloveniersdoelen, the headquarters of the Amsterdam Harquebusiers militia. In 1715, when it was transferred to Amsterdam’s new town hall, now the Royal Palace on the Dam, the painting was cut away on both sides to fit the planned location between two doors. The cut-out parts have never been found.

Since 1808, The Night Watch has been part of the collection of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, where it is exhibited as a centerpiece. The Rijksmuseum, located in the heart of Amsterdam, is the national museum of the Netherlands, dedicated to the arts and history of the country. The Night Watch is displayed in a room specially designed to highlight its grandeur and artistic importance.

Over the centuries, The Night Watch has undergone several restorations to preserve its splendor. In 2019, the Rijksmuseum has launched Operation Night Watch, the largest research and restoration project ever undertaken on this masterpiece. The initiative aims to study in depth the materials and techniques used by Rembrandt, as well as to restore missing parts of the painting. Museum visitors can observe the restoration work live, in a specially equipped glass room.

The Night Watch is much more than just a painting, it is a symbol of Dutch cultural identity and a witness to Amsterdam’s rich historical past. Its exhibition at the Rijksmuseum enables visitors from all over the world to admire this masterpiece and understand its importance in the history of art.

Rembrandt’s Night Watch, painted in 1642, has been on display at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum since 1808. This iconic masterpiece continues to fascinate art lovers and historians alike, testifying to Rembrandt’s artistic genius and the importance of the bourgeois militia in 17th-century Dutch society.

You may also be interested in

• What is Alfons Mucha’s nationality?
• Who painted The Luncheon on the Grass in 1863?
• Which Japanese artist painted The Great Wave of Kanagawa?